There has been a noticeable increase in the number of children being admitted to hospital in England for throat infections since 1999, new figures show.

Researchers at Imperial College London looked at admission rates for children, aged 17 and under, with acute throat infections such as tonsillitis and pharyngitis between 1999 and 2010.

They found that the admission rate rose by 76 per cent during that time, from 12,283 children in 1999 to 22,071 in 2010.

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There was also a 115 per cent increase in the number of short hospital stays lasting less than two days for acute throat infections.

Publishing their findings in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, the researchers noted that the rise in admissions for throat infections did not appear to be linked to the decline in tonsillectomy rates in recent years.

Lead researcher Dr Elizabeth Koshy, from Imperial College London's School of Public Health, said the findings were 'very concerning'.

She added: 'We think this is likely to be due to problems at the primary care and secondary care interface.

'Our study highlights the need to urgently address the issue of healthcare access, with improved models of integrated care within primary and secondary care, to avoid potentially unnecessary hospital admissions for relatively minor infections in the future.'

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